A Line Cook's Letters About Food, Love, and Life

DO YOU COOK TO LIVE OR LIVE TO COOK?

My son, a technical education teacher once said, “There are two types of workers in the world; those who shower before work and those who shower after.” I thought this was quite profound and a way to categorize the type of work people do and the mentality of those who do it. Having been around restaurants and kitchens in particular, for many years, I could classify people who work in kitchens as those who take on the role of cook to simply pay their bills vs. those who see the opportunity to cook as a calling; a form of personal expression.

There are ample opportunities for both types of cooks in an industry closing in on $500 billion in U.S. sales alone. Those who work for a paycheck can and often are, accomplished at their craft, however, it is a job. In some cases, operations can even disregard the talent…